Sticky Notes Are More Than To-Do's
by ShadowConnors
Summary: Kevin tries to uphold his reputation as a bully, but his feelings for someone in the cul-de-sac get in the way. (boyxboy) Whoops!
1. Chapter 1

Nervous butterflies fluttered in my belly. It was getting close to the special time. The bell was going to ring soon. I didn't have much longer to procrastinate. Fighting the jittery, anxious feeling I had, I pulled a piece of paper out of my binder and rummaged through my pencil pouch for a pen. Glancing up at the clock, I pretended to be paying attention to the teacher's lecture. It was getting even closer to that time. I only had fifteen minutes.

_Come on,_ I told myself. _You're never going to get anywhere with it if you never try._

Pressing the pen to the page, I began to write. _Remember; be clear and to the point._ The teacher droned on about the creation of a banking system or something else I would probably never use again in my life. Gulping and looking back at the paper on my desk, I frowned and contemplated crumpling it up and forgetting all about my special plan.

_No, no. You've gotten this far, kid. You can't give up now._

I folded the note up into a precise square. _It's all about being precise. That's what he likes._

Finally allowing myself to relax, I focused on the clock ticking down the moments to the execution of my plan. My mind ran through how I hoped it would go.

Absentmindedly, I whispered to myself, "Please go as planned. Please, dear God, let it all go as planned."

I'd known him for so long; I couldn't let myself mess this up. I still remembered the day that he moved into our neighborhood. He was a bit of a geek—or perhaps the right word was dork—but I always found something about him intriguing, even if I had to tease him in order to uphold my well known reputation.

Under my desk, my foot tapped with the rush of nerves. What if I ended up hurting him? That was the last thing I wanted. He could just reject me flat out, and then I would be so disappoint—

I was interrupted by the shrill dismissal bell. The hordes of students in the classroom picked up their things and quickly ran out. I headed toward his locker, thinking over what I was doing. By the time I'd gotten there, he was already taking out his organized homework folder to go home. As soon as he closed his locker and turned around, I was behind him. He gasped.

"H-hi K-Kevin." He stammered, offering a nervous smile.

Smirking, I pushed him up against the lockers. He quivered with fear as I leaned so close my nose almost touched his. He gave a weak chuckle of anxiety. I looked him over, noticing his hat was on just a bit crooked. His wonderful brown eyes glinted in the lights. I smiled a bit, and shoved the squared note in his open mouth.

"See ya later, D Double DORK!" I shouted, walking to the corner and turning it, sighing and falling to the floor.

From here, I could hear his curious remarks as he opened the note and read it.

"Why, that's rather cute!" he exclaimed.

I glanced around the corner and felt a hot blush rush to my cheeks. I felt weak and my heart pounded in my chest. Full of overwhelming joy, I ran to the bike rack outside of Peach Creek Junior High and unlocked my baby, my pride and joy, my bike. Chuckling and giggling like a child, I got on and rode off toward the cul-de-sac. Tossing my hands in the air, I shouted, "He thinks I'm cute!"


	2. Chapter 2

_He thinks I'm cute. He thinks what I said is cute. He means it, right? He better mean it!_

The entire way home, my mind was on Double D. The way he'd said that he found my quickly scrawled note to be cute just made my heart race. As I pulled my way into the garage of my large house in the cul-de-sac, I remembered just what I'd written in the note to my dear Double D.

_You did well, Kevin. You really did well!_

I parked my bike in the garage and headed inside. My parents weren't home, but they'd left a note on the fridge.

_Dear Kevin, _

_Make yourself a snack and have dinner whenever you'd like. Dad and I are out for the night. Don't get into too much trouble. Do your homework and STAY IN THE CUL-DE-SAC!_

_Love, _

_Mom_

I tore the note off the fridge and read it over and over as I carried it to my bedroom along with my backpack. I set it down beside my desk, remembering that I had science homework. However, I knew that there was something way more important for me to do. I walked to the closet and opened it, beaming at my reflection in the tall mirror behind the door.

"Hello there, handsome!" I said, winking and laughing at myself.

I studied the way my hair fell beneath my hat. I straightened my green shirt and adjusted my black pants. A few strands of hair poked out in odd directions. I rushed to fix them, smoothing them down with the palm of my hand and smiling. _Perfect._

Next, I set to the task of sifting through my closet. There had to be something good enough to wear that would really stun that dork. The silence of my room became very eerie suddenly, though, so I walked to my stereo and put some music on to fill the empty air. _Much better,_ I thought.

I looked back into the closet and a thought struck me.

"Oh, yeah! I have that suit thing I got for that wedding!" I nearly shouted over the music.

Smiling so much that my cheeks began to hurt, I ran to my mother's room and dug through her closet of fancy clothes, where she insisted on keeping my suit so that I wouldn't ruin it. I grabbed the hanger with my suit on it, satisfied with my find. _Now, time to do your homework._

Returning to my room, I turned the music down to a very quiet level. I cracked open my history book and frowned. Homework was definitely not my thing. I'd rather have been out riding my bike and hanging out with Naz, the one girl in the cul-de-sac who knew my secret affection for Double D besides that sweet little dork himself. However, if my grades didn't stay good, there wasn't a chance of me keeping my bike much longer. I wrote down the questions and began to answer them, but soon, I was interrupted by a slight tapping on my bedroom window.

"Oh, it's probably one of those Ed-dweebs." I muttered, standing up and pulling my curtains back.

I opened the window and looked down. The first thing that met my eyes was a soft, warm pair of brown eyes, nearly covered by a familiar black hat. A hot blush instantly hit my cheeks, and I chuckled. He offered a smile and his face lit up.

"Hey, dork! What are you doing here?" I said, mocking my normally rude ways.

"I came to give you an answer to your wonderful little note, Kevin." He said, his smile growing wider with every word he said.

"Go around to the front door, Double Dork. I'll let you in, and we can talk about it, ok?" I said, giving a soft smile and trying to conceal the butterflies in my belly.

He nodded and walked toward my front door. I closed the window and made sure to lock it before grabbing my homework and carrying it to the kitchen table. Then, I opened the front door. Double D stood on my doorstep, anxiously mumbling to himself and fidgeting. I snickered a little, which caused him to look up at me.

"O-oh, hi, Kevin. I didn't know you'd be here." He stuttered nervously.

I laughed again, inviting him inside and bringing him to the kitchen where I'd set my homework items.

"Sit down, Double D. Want something to drink or something?" I asked, walking to the fridge and producing two cans of cola.

Double D shook his head.

"No thank you, Kevin. I just want to let you know that I found your note to be rather wonderful and sweet. In fact, I want to tell you that I will most definitely be ready on Saturday at 7. I just want to know one thing, Kevin."

I looked up at him, opening my drink. He smiled, and I nodded for him to go on.

"I've lived in the cul-de-sac since I was 4. Why didn't you tell me you felt this way before?" he asked, a curious look on his soft face.

I gulped and searched for an answer in my head. Perhaps there wasn't one to give him. Maybe I was just ashamed. Maybe I thought no one would care for me anymore. Or perhaps I just didn't know how to get the words out. _I love you._ I shrugged and looked down at my homework, pretending to be pondering over how removing an organism from an ecosystem would cause chaos. In reality, I was thinking about Edd. Finally, Double D whispered, "I wish I'd told you before, Kevin. I wish I had known. It would've saved me so much hurt. But… Perhaps I should say no more before I go, other than thank you. I'll see you Saturday, Kevin."

With that, he leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead, walked to the front door and left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Double D's POV**

After I'd walked home from Kevin's house, I opened the door quietly on the off chance that my parents had returned home during my absence. It was well known to the kids of the cul-de-sac that my own two parents rarely returned home, because their jobs were very time consuming, and rather important.

"Mom? Dad?" I called out almost silently, knowing already that they hadn't returned.

Sighing, I closed the door behind me and walked to the answering machine, which flashed in indication that someone had left a message for me. My heart slowed as I pressed the play button and listened to several messages from Ed and Eddy, who were calling from their parents' phones. The two of them had left for family matters in another state, leaving me to myself. I picked a sticky note off the counter.

_**Wash the dishes after dinner, Edd.**_

I smiled. My mother still believed that I ate dinner every day while she was gone. I crumpled the sticky note up and tossed it in the waste bin. Then, I started on the dishes in the sink, which were simply a pair of bowls and spoons from my parents' breakfast this morning. I'd chosen something small that would require no clean up. Afterward, I dried the dishes and put them in their labeled place in the cupboard.

My homework had already been done before I'd gone to Kevin's house to confirm our date for Saturday, and I was left with nothing to do. My outfit for our date had already been picked out, and I wasn't in much of a mood to watch television. I took myself upstairs to my bedroom. The door was closed. On it was a sticky note that I'd overlooked before.

_**Your clothes have been cleaned and put away. Nothing to do here.**_

I laughed and ripped the note off the door, a certain feeling filling me. I was beginning to lose my normally cool attitude. In fact, I could have almost hurt someone. Growling, I opened the door to my room, looking over each labeled item. It was so familiar, so plain, and so normal. It was the same from my early childhood days living in the cul-de-sac. Nothing had changed except the clothes in the closet and a few unlabeled items tucked away in a desk drawer. They had a lot to do with my growing up, but no one ever knew they'd existed, not even my dear Kevin. In fact, I stopped to wish he'd never find out.

Frowning at the thought of those hidden items in my bedroom, I sat on the edge of my neatly made bed and looked at the ceiling.

"Why didn't I stay with him? Why did I ask that stupid question, anyway? What if he didn't like me when we were younger? Ugh!" I said aloud, falling back on the covers.

My chest rose and fell beneath my shirt with each breath I took. My signature black hat fell off my head, revealing an untidy mess of tangled hair. I remember being asked why I needed to wear my hat at all times. I couldn't give much answer. It was simple, though. I hated my hair, because it was too messy to ever have belonged to such a neat freak. Kevin had never even seen my hair, and I knew that eventually he would come to ask me about the mystery beneath my famed hat.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, slowly letting the air escape my lungs as I allowed my thoughts to slip to Kevin. I thought about his bright eyes, the way they looked loving even though he threatened me. I studied his wonderful hair that poked out beneath his hat, resting on his soft skin. In my mind, I explored the features of his face, lingering on his perfect lips.

_Snap out of it, Edd. That's not a nice thing to think about. After all, you've not even been on your first date. Take it easy._

The doorbell rang downstairs, and I groaned.

"Who could that be?" I asked myself out loud as I ran down the stairs.

The sun had just begun to set, as I noted through the window above the door. Evening had a very cozy way of enveloping our sleepy little cul-de-sac. I smiled a little at that thought as I opened the door, only to find nothing on my doorstep but a single, neon green sticky note with memorable handwriting on it. I smiled even bigger, shaking my head as I bent down to peel the note off the smooth concrete. As I stood up, I felt myself enveloped in warmth as I read the note.

_**To my sweet Double D,**_

_**I love you.**_

_**-Kevin**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Double D's POV (still)**

I did many small things to occupy the few hours I had before bed that night. I wrote out a few little things for my parents to read upon their arrival. It was the only way for me to know whether or not they'd made it home that night. If they did, the notes would be gone, and I'd have whatever I asked for. If not, it didn't really matter. My parents were nearly nonexistent in my life from the time we moved to Peach Creek and became a part of the cul-de-sac. In fact, I hadn't had a real talk with them since before then. There was never enough time. As long as my grades stayed in the higher part of the grading scale, which they always were, they never seemed to have much to say to me anyways.

By the time it was ten o'clock, there was still no sign of my phantom parents. I took a quick shower to rid myself of the feeling of dirt covering my skin. It was the most refreshing thing I'd felt all day—that is, except the small kiss I gave Kevin before I left. After stepping out and drying off, I felt rather worn out. The day's events were just overwhelming. I pulled on my favorite pajamas, yawning as I did so. I tucked myself into bed, told myself my own bedtime story, just as I had every night since my parents got new jobs. I curled up tightly in the middle of my bed, tuckered out. Just as sleep tugged on my eyelids, I heard a sound outside. It wasn't much, so I didn't think about it. At this point, even a train couldn't pull me out of bed. I closed my eyes tighter.

Just as I began to fall asleep, I heard another sound, though this was much softer and inviting. I opened my eyes and looked toward the window opposite my bed. The deep purple curtains covered it, as I'd never found a reason to open them and let the sun or moon shine through. The sound got louder. It wasn't a banging sound, or a ruckus. In fact, it was sweet and melodic, a dulcet tone of sorts. I sat up, slumped over sleepily with my favorite blanket wrapped over my now silky hair, which I'd just brushed out. The sound grew in intensity, yet the volume didn't budge. I wondered if anyone else in the cul-de-sac could hear the gentle sound that I could hear just outside my window. I stood up and dragged my worn out body to the window, pulling back the curtains. On the window, there was a new green sticky note. I opened the window and peeled it off from the outside. By the moonlight, I could read the handwriting in blue ink.

_**Double D,**_

_**Here's a lullaby for you. Leave the window open and lay in bed. **_

_**Love, **_

_**Kevin**_

I looked down, only to see Kevin with a ladder and a guitar. He looked up at me, and smiled, which sent hot blood rushing to my cheeks. I smiled back and then walked to my bed, covering myself up. All warm and comfy, I closed my eyes for a moment, listening to Kevin set his ladder against my house and climb up. He took a seat on my window sill, looking around my organized room for a moment before smiling at me lying in bed.

"You look adorable, Double D." He whispered.

I smiled and laughed softly.

"You look like a robber, Kev." I breathed.

He laughed. "All robbers carry guitars and green sticky notes, right?"

I felt him sit on the edge of my bed and adjust his guitar. The light from the moon glinted off the slick body of the guitar. I fought to keep my eyes open to watch Kevin, when the sound of a car pulling into the drive interrupted us. I sat up franticly as the floor vibrated due to the opening of the garage door beneath us. Kevin stood up and frowned. Tears swelled in my eyes as I shooed him out the window and held the ladder as I watched my Romeo descend down it. He took the ladder and his guitar and trudged home in the shadows.

Quickly, I closed the window and put the curtains back in their place, and on light feet, I tiptoed back to bed. I lay down, now wide awake. The sound of hushed voices outside of my door drew my attention in that direction. My parents stood in the hall, obviously indecisive about _something_. Just what it was, however, was beyond me. I began to fall asleep again, hoping that maybe they would just go straight to bed. They didn't.

The door to my bedroom slowly opened, and the light flicked on.

"Eddward, wake up." My mother's soft voice spoke.

I sat up, clearly grumpy from having been woken up at this hour, just before sleep fully captured me and allowed me to be swept away into a secret fantasy. With sleepy eyes, I studied my parents' faces. My father looked worried. My mother looked calm.

"There's something we need to talk about. It's very important." My father said, sitting on the foot of my bed. My mother sat on the edge of my mattress, where Kevin had sat only moments ago.

I braced myself for something petty, such as one of them taking on more work or having to go away on a trip. The words that left my father's mouth next, however, were far worse than anything I could've thought of that they would normally say.

"The two of us have decided that we'd like a divorce." He said, no emotion showing on his face whatsoever.

Tears formed in my eyes, stinging hot. I tried to blink them away, only allowing them to spill over onto my cheeks. My parents stood up and left the room. I heard my mother go to her room, and my father's heavy footsteps headed downstairs to the spare bedroom. Left all alone in the dark and silence, I suddenly felt a horrible thing. _What if this is all my fault?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Back to Kevin's POV**

I sat on my bed, staring out the window toward Double D's house. The light that I knew was his bedroom was on. His front window faced mine, and though the curtains covered it, I knew somehow that my Eddward was wide awake. My bottom lip quivered. It pained me to know he was wide awake, as it any night that I'd looked across the street to his room to find the light on behind the dark curtains.

I removed my hat and set it on my dresser, then shimmied out of my clothes and pulled on pajamas. My parents were already asleep, all worn out from their day at work. I kneeled at my window and wondered just what could be keeping my Double D awake. Eventually, the tug of sleep on my eyelids made it impossible to watch any longer for his light to turn off and for him to have fallen asleep. I would have to ask him tomorrow morning at school.

Yawning, I dragged my feet all the way to my bed, stopping to look at tomorrow, which was Friday, on the calendar on my wall. Feeling rather exhausted, I fell onto my bed and sighed. I covered myself tightly with my blanket, and reached over to turn my lamp off. As soon as the light was off, I closed my eyes and fell asleep just moments later. Double D was still on my mind.

_The sun shone bright over the cul-de-sac. It was the same thing that'd been seen by all of the kids who lived there, day after day. Each house looked the same as it always had, even before their current residents had moved in. Just outside of the circle of houses that had come to be known as the cul-de-sac, there was a large patch of trees and foliage. It was easier to navigate after the first time in there, but I knew my way through it pretty well. As I was walking through, however, I seemed to spend a lot of time studying the tall trees above me, and the tangled vines and bushes beneath my feet. I'd left my bike just outside the trees, since there was no chance of ever getting it to ride smoothly through here. My foot caught on a branch, and I tripped, falling forward on a pile of leaves. _

_As I pulled myself up, brushing off my clothes and checking myself for scrapes, I heard something nearby. It sounded almost like running water. I found it kind of strange, because wandering through here, I'd never found a creek or river before. Regardless, I ran toward the sound of the creek, and soon, after stumbling over the crisscrossing undergrowth, I tumbled onto a soft, warm splotch of grass just before a bright blue creek. The air was cool where the trees shaded from the sun. I lay down on my back, staring up at the vibrant azure sky between the gaps in the pulsating olive leaves above me. For a while, all was relaxing and serene. The sound of the running creek along with birds chirping amongst the trees made for a perfect calming soundtrack to lull me to sleep. _

_Then, however, there was a commotion. I sat up, looking all around me. There was a splash, and the sounds of a struggle. Confused, I stood up. I could hear gurgled calls for help and muffled cries for… **me.** Horrified, I ran toward the shrieks and shouts, hoping and praying that I could save whoever it was that had fallen into the creek. Suddenly, the water didn't look bright blue. Instead, the surface of the water appeared a deep blue-grey. I ran faster, looking into the water. It was harder to see what I was looking for. I looked to the other river bank and saw a hat. It wasn't just any hat. It was Eddward's hat. Fear shook me. I searched the water, tears filling my eyes. I wiped them away, reaching into the water. I felt a weak hand grab onto me. I stuck my other hand in, grabbing Double D's arm and pulling him up. He was cold and pale. I tried to remember everything I could from junior lifeguard camp, but it was no use. He was gone. _

I sat upright in bed, sweating and tangled in my sheets. My hands were shaking, and I could hardly breathe. Tears streamed down my face. I tossed the covers off of me and walked to my window. I searched for the light behind Double D's curtains. There was none. He must've gone to sleep. My heart still pounded in my chest, and I couldn't calm down. I paced around my room for what seemed like an eternity, and finally the sun began to rise, shining light over everything in the cul-de-sac. _At least I know Double D is safe._

* * *

**_Author's Note: I WILL be continuing from here, and I'm sorry this chapter's kinda short. Someone that's been reading this that's a close friend is begging for more. All of you guys from Tumblr, by the way, leave me your URLs. I wanna follow you guys because I can. And as for Double D and Kevin... I ship it. :3_**


	6. Chapter 6

By the end of my first period class, I was already worried about Edd. I hadn't seen him since I got to school, and I was hoping that he hadn't gotten sick or something this morning and hadn't come to school at all. I walked nervously through the hall, hands shaking as I navigated to Eddward's locker. He stood in front of it, staring into the open locker. I approached him slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Double D? Are you alright?" I asked softly.

He pulled out of my grip, slammed his locker shut, and walked toward the bathroom. I frowned and followed him from a safe distance. I analyzed his slumped shoulders, the way he dragged his feet as he walked. He went into the boy's bathroom. I stopped just before the door slammed shut. I pressed my hand against the door and opened it up, expecting to see Double D in front of the mirror, staring at his pale reflection. He wasn't there, though.

I remained quiet, practically tiptoeing to the second mirror and staring at the dark bags beneath my eyes. The lack of sleep due to last night's nightmare had caused me to be perfectly exhausted this morning. I wished my parents were home to pick me up, because I felt like I might drop at any second. With cold fingers, I touched the puffy purple circles beneath my eyes and shivered. All was quiet in the bathroom under the dim lighting, except for the quiet sound of… sobbing?

"Edd, where are you?" I whispered softly.

The crying softened for a moment, and then continued, even louder than before. I turned to push on the stall door where I heard him. It was, of course, locked.

"Come on, Eddward. I know you're in there. I promise, whatever it is, I won't judge you." I said gently.

"K-Kevin, you can't possibly understand what it is that I'm crying over. It's just a…" he trailed off, sniffling.

"Double D, please believe me. I'll do anything." I put my hand on the door, starting to cry.

The door opened slightly, and I looked up to see my Eddward smiling slightly through his tears. I looked into his eyes, and I could see all the hurt in them, though I didn't know just what it came from. _What is hurting you, baby?_ I took a step toward him, though a small one. Double D reached out, placing his hand gently on the side of my face, causing me to blush.

"Edd…" I whispered, listening to it reverberate against the tiles.

His name sounded beautiful this way, but not more beautiful than the sound of him saying my name. He looked deep into my eyes, and I felt strangely close to him.

"There's a lot going on in my house, Kevin. In fact, it's more than I can handle. I'm… afraid." Edd breathed, his voice breaking as he spoke.

I rested my right hand on his shoulder, offering a soft smile.

"Sweetheart, you can tell me anything… Maybe you should come over after school. I want to help you feel better, Eddward. Just remember something for me, okay?" I told him.

"What's that, Kevin?" Double D asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Remember that you're perfect." I murmured, leaning in and kissing him on the forehead, just below his well-known hat before picking up my stuff and walking to class.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey, guys. :3 I hope you liked this chapter! Again, Tumblr people can give me your URLs and I'll follow you! Thanks everyone reading. :) Ta ta for now!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Double D Again**

After returning to class, ensuring that I'd wiped all visible traces of my crying, I could hardly wait for the final bell. At lunch, I sat closer to Kevin than I ever had before, and he had his eyes on me most of the time. I smiled a few times as he spoke to Naz, his best friend. She smiled at him and told him something, and he gave me a look of love and excitement.

Through all of my classes, where I was normally perfectly focused on the curriculum, I fidgeted. The teachers gave me concerned looks, watching me sitting, staring off in a daze. They spoke about each subject in depth, which would normally produce a response from me, but it didn't. My mind was all too focused on Kevin.

My mind wandered far and wide with Kevin. I even conjured up a plan for what would happen when I got to his house to tell him the news about my parents and possibly even discuss a little bit into my past. I wasn't sure if that would happen, though, because my past was something that no one ever wanted to hear about. My parents didn't even care much about it. However, since they were never home to know what I did when they were at work, I couldn't help but think that they didn't even know I'd had a rough past.

By the time the final bell of the day rang, I was ready to be around Kevin. I stopped at my locker and got my necessary materials for homework. When I closed my locker and turned around, Kevin was right behind me. His perfect smile was just level with my weak grin. He reached a hand around me, holding me close in a warm, much needed embrace. Goosebumps covered my skin, and when he finally pulled out of the hug, he whispered, "I'm walking you home today. Forget about me riding my bike."

I smiled and said, "Isn't that bike like… your baby?"

He laughed softly and shook his head. "No, Double D. You're my baby."

We walked side by side out of the school, though we avoided acting too friendly in the sight of anyone from school. They wouldn't understand, and would probably only add to my stress, as well as destroy Kevin's reputation. When we finally got to the outer edges of the cul-de-sac, near the woods where the actual Peach Creek ran, Kevin reached over and slipped his hand in mine, interlocking our fingers. A fiery blush spread across my face.

Kevin pulled me aside into the cover of a small grove of trees. I leaned back against a tree, smiling at him. He laughed and offered back a warm smile. Then, however, he did something I didn't expect. Leaning in close to my face, he spoke in whispers, watching my reactions carefully.

"Something wrong, Dork?" he breathed, smiling at me.

I giggled nervously, with Kevin being so close I could feel his warmth.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, chuckling.

I shook my head. _Or am I?_ He got even closer, and I thought he was about to kiss me. It was a moment I'd planned out in my mind for years. Just as our lips were centimeters—no, millimeters away from touching, Kevin pulled away quickly and took me back to the path.

"If we don't hurry up, it'll be too late when we finish homework." Kevin said, shrugging off the incident.

_What a tease he is, _I thought. _But what a very good tease he is._

We walked slowly, holding hands. What was normally a ten minute walk took us almost a half hour. Finally, though, we reached the front door of Kevin's house.

"Wait here, dear." He said, running into his house to get something so that we could do homework in my room.

I politely waited on Kevin's doorstep, leaning against the wall near his door. He was only gone for a few minutes, but I kept my eye out on the cul-de-sac. I didn't necessarily want anyone to see me waiting patiently on my "enemy's" doorstep. It was too bad that no one knew that the enemy thing wouldn't last anymore. When Kevin finally emerged, I studied him closely, looking into his eyes, analyzing his hair, and remembering every feature on his wonderful face. He smiled and gave me a quick hug, then took my hand and walked me home.

"We'll do homework here, Kev." I told him, smiling.

I'd almost forgotten about my parents by now, since Kevin's presence made everything feel a thousand times better. He smiled and nodded as I turned to unlock my front door. I invited him in and reminded him politely to remove his shoes, not because of my rules, but because of my parents. He smiled and took them off for me, setting them neatly on the shoe rack beside the front door. After standing up, he then took a moment to look around, letting the general vibe of my house soak in.

"So, your parents work at the sticky note factory?" He asked jokingly.

I laughed anxiously. "No, no. They just like to leave me lots of reminders and hope that sticky notes fill the void of being parentless." I explained.

I moved on, walking to the kitchen. When I turned to show Kevin the doorway to my kitchen where the table was, I noticed that he'd stopped where I'd made that comment. Puzzled, I called to him. He looked upset. I motioned for him to come toward me, and he did so slowly.

"Wh-what do you mean, _parentless_, Eddward?" he said, his voice cracking and catching in his throat.

"Well, Kevin… I'll explain after homework. In the meantime, can I get you anything? A snack, a drink, perhaps? Or maybe a kiss?" I whispered.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, here it is. Thanks to all the Tumblr URLs I've gotten so far. I've followed all of you! If anyone else wants to give me their URL, please do! :) For those of you who were wondering, I'm shadowspenguins on Tumblr. Thanks for reading my story, and thanks for all the nice reviews and such! :D**

**Much love,**

**Shadow~**


	8. Chapter 8

Kevin gave me a gentle look and a soft smile. He pulled out a seat at the large table while I got us some snacks. Water for me, a soda for Kevin. I brought out a variety of snacks from the pantry and made a platter full of my favorites, setting them on the middle on the table in front of Kevin. I watched him discreetly as I sat down in a chair beside him and began my homework, which was already partially done.

We worked in silence for a while; the only sound heard being the sound of our pencils dragging along the blank white notebook paper with blue lines. Every few words I wrote on the page, I glanced at Kevin. And when I looked back toward my work, I could feel him looking up at me. It made me smile. Occasionally, we sipped at our drinks or took a cookie or cracker from the tray and ate it quietly. Finally, I broke the silence.

"Kevin?" I said in a low voice.

He looked up at me, realizing I'd been done with my work for a few minutes, and had spent this time studying him instead. He smiled nervously and gave an awkward but very cute smile.

"Yes, Double D?" he said, searching my eyes.

"I know you came to do homework, but… I want to talk, if that's alright with you." I said, looking down at his paper to see how much more he had to go before he was finished.

"It's fine to talk. I'm almost done, by the way. Just one more problem to finish, okay? And then we can do whatever you want." He informed me, smiling.

I nodded, telling him to return to his work. I watched quietly for a little while, noting the way he looked when he thought, the way he chewed on his lip when he the answer didn't come to him right away, the way he held his pencil in his right hand. Even though I'd said I wanted to talk, I suddenly had nothing to say, because everything that circulated my mind was about him. He already knew how perfect he was. He already saw just how amazing he was. He knew. But it was all so new and fascinating to me. He glanced up.

"I thought you wanted to talk, Double D. Why not say something then?" he whispered, chuckling.

As he spoke, I watched his pink lips move, so perfect. I looked into his eyes, noticing the gleam of the kitchen light adding extra shine to his lively eyes. He gave me a puzzled look, waving his hand in front of me.

"H-huh? Oh, right, I wanted to talk. Um, I guess I got distracted?" I fumbled over my words.

Kevin laughed. "I see that, Edd."

I cringed, embarrassed that he'd caught me staring. I glanced down at his work, finding that he had finished.

"Sorry. I thought you wanted to know about what made me cry earlier… didn't you?" I questioned, scooting my chair a little closer to Kevin's.

He nodded, remaining silent as a signal for me to explain. Suddenly, I could feel my heart rate increase, and I was aware of the blood pounding through the veins in my head. All the emotion from last night came flooding back.

"Well, okay. I just need to tell you first that I've never had a great relationship with my parents. We moved to Peach Creek when I was four years old. Since then, my parents have been too busy to stop at home at a reasonable hour. Sometimes, they even stay at work overnight. They take a lot of business trips. I never really get to see them or spend time with them. It's kind of sad, don't you think?" I looked up at him for a response, seeing tears glistening in his eyes.

I pretended not to notice. "So I've never gotten to be close to my parents, and that's just how it is. I used to do everything they asked, and now I fake it most of the time. They leave these sticky notes behind like it's somehow going to fix the impacts of their absence in my life. There's a lot that's happened to me that my parents don't know about. Nights of loneliness followed days of being tormented at school for simply being smart enough to pay full attention to instruction. Those nights left me unable to make good decisions about what I could do to ease my emotional and psychological pain. My head was filled with so much… so many bad thoughts. Kevin, there was a point in time where I almost died. Not because of any illness of my immune system, but because of a sickness of my mind. And for the first time in a while, I was scared. I couldn't tell my parents what was happening to me because they were never there. In fact, at times I couldn't remember if I even _had_ parents. And then I got into something that was almost impossible to stop. In fact, it _is_ impossible to stop. I still think about it all the time. I still have the urges…" I trailed off, glancing down at my pale, skinny wrist.

Kevin was silent, but I knew he was crying without even looking. Soon, I was unable to contain my tears. I felt a hand on my wrist, not grabbing or slapping, not punishing or mean, but gentle and loving. I glanced up, and Kevin was offering me a sad smile.

"Are you okay? And can you go on with what hurt you last night?" he whispered, sending chills across my skin.

I nodded. "Basically, after you had to leave last night, my parents came home. I hurried up and pretended to be asleep, just in case they were coming to check that I'd obeyed my bedtime. I heard them arguing in whispers from the hallway, and I knew they were standing out there. Finally they came in. They turned on the lights, which was quite unpleasant. And then, they hit me with some hard news. They pretty much came in on the one night I got to see them after quite a few months, and told me they were getting a divorce. It brought so many bad thoughts and memories back, I just couldn't handle it. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even sleep."

When I looked up at Kevin, I could see the sadness and hurt in his eyes. He wanted to help, but he knew there was nothing he could do. I was crying hard, breathing in short bursts. I couldn't catch my breath. Closing my eyes, I gave into all the horrid feelings that overtook me. Kevin took me into his arms. He picked me up in his strong arms, and I knew he was carrying me, though our destination was a mystery. I felt safe like this, all held in Kevin's safe grip. His warm embrace felt nice. He hushed me, rubbing the edge of his hand on the side of my face. I felt something soft beneath me and opened my eyes, finding us in my bedroom. Kevin lay beside me, holding me close to him.

My gaze shifted to his wonderful eyes, and he smiled. Then, something happened that I didn't expect. He leaned in close, holding a little distance between us for a few moments. I could feel his cool breath against my skin, which gave me goose bumps. He came closer, letting our lips touch. I shivered with the feeling. Then, Kevin pressed his lips hard against mine, kissing me like I'd never been kissed before. The kiss held on for a while, and I hoped and prayed it would last forever.

When Kevin finally pulled back, leaving my lips tingling, I whispered, "Kevin… I love you."

He smiled warmly and laughed quietly. "Eddward, I love you too. And I will never _ever_ leave you, no matter what."

And with that, he leaned back in and kissed me again.

* * *

**This chapter is longer because I took forever with it, so you guys deserve it. :) I love you all c: You're perfection, people. PERFECTION. Keep reading, please, and ship it HARD! :D **

**Love,**

**Shadow :3**


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